STORY SYNOPSISFranklin Richard is the son of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, from the Fantastic Four fame. He is not a superhero like the rest of his family, but he is a genius like his father. When the Four must go into space to fight off a great galactic evil, Franklin must stay with super physicist, Mr. Powers and family. In reverse, the children of the Power family (Alex, 12; Julie, 10; Jack, 8; and Katie, 5) are preteen superheroes, a fact the children feel necessary to hide from the Power parents.

Franklin knows of the Power children’s secret but he does not know how their secret came to be. So, during the sleepover Franklin asks them to share their origin story. What a story it is, complete with Pony-creatures, power-seeking Skrulls, and a prophecy.

The entire story is told over eight issues, split up into two story arcs. The first arc, Day One, tells how the Power Pack first received their abilities. The second arc tells of the impending Skrull deception to frame the Power Pack and gain control of the empire through the use of anti-matter.

REVIEWThe first arc drug along a bit and was a tad soft for my taste, what with all the pony-headed Kymellian and Julie’s rainbow powers. The shape-shifting, lizard-like Skrulls help make up for that. The second arc was more exciting and complex. The Powers had to uncover the secret of who framed them, and then seek to thwart the efforts of the Skrulls by uncovering the secrets to the hidden prophecy, which was full of puzzles and riddles just ripe for the classroom.

Franklin Richards and the Power kids are resourceful and intelligent, courageous and persistent. They are good role models for kids, while still being kids who disobey and get into trouble.

At the end of every issue, Marvel has included a 2- to 4-page mini comic, much like a long comic strip. These are delightful little stories with cartoony caricatures of the Power Pack. Kids will love these; they are quite cute.

ART REVIEWThe cover art of SKULLS VS POWER PACK #2 says enough about Van Lente’s humorous writing and the artist’s ability to make these good kids still relevant to the modern child. Crack me up! I’ve always liked Van Lente comedic bent ever since I read ACTION PHILOSOPHERS.

AGE RECOMMENDATIONChris’ Rating: Ages 10 and olderPublisher’s Rating: Rated A (for all ages)

BE AWARECreatures do die, but none of them are human.

IN THE CLASSROOMFirst of all, I would take my time with SKRULLS VS. POWER PACK #4. The kids have to solve a series of puzzles and riddles in order to understand the prophecy. This is very similar to the tests Harry Potter et al. had to undergo in THE SORCERER’S STONE. It would be very easy to incorporate the puzzles and riddles into the mathematics and logic curriculum. Solving these puzzles beforehand or during would also help students comprehend the story and give them a reason to read.

OTHER INFORMATIONThis story relates to the Skrull invasion occurring across the Marvel Universe titles at the same time.

CHRIS’ RECOMMENDATION:RecommendedKids as superheroes? Why not? While you are at it, throw in some logic games (found in the story). What fun!

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About TGC

The Graphic Classroom is a resource for teachers and librarians to help them stock high quality, educational-worthy, graphic novels and comics in their classroom or school library. I read and review every graphic novel or comic on this blog and give it a rating as to appropriateness for the classroom.

Submit Your Comics

Would you like your comic or graphic novel reviewed here at THE GRAPHIC CLASSROOM? You can do so in two ways, one of which is guaranteed and the other is not:

1. Send me a copy of the comic or graphic novel. I will read it and review it as soon as possible. You can email me privately and I will give you my mailing address. abikerbard@mac.com

2. You can simply tell me about your creation.

If you send me a copy, then I will review your submission. I will be honest and fair and do my best to get your book reviewed in a timely manner. I am a full time graduate student, so my time is limited. If I receive a lot of books, then I will put them on a first-come, first-reviewed list and do the best I can.

If you cannot or will not send me a media copy of your book, then you can just request that I review it. My money is short, as I am going to school and not working, so you are depending on my ability to afford your book. There is no guarantee that I will get to your work nor any guarantee that I will even review it. If I can afford it and have time to read it, then I will most certainly review it. It's all about the teachers, librarians and kids.

Reviews are never based on free media copies. I am writing my Master's Thesis on the subject of comics in the classroom, so this is important to me. I am committed to this and I take reviews very seriously. I do not rip into books in order to get readership. I will have a critical eye, but I am also excited about helping teachers find great books for the classroom.

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About The Editor

My name is Chris Wilson. My first name is Jack, which is why you see it on the posts, but I usually go by my middle name: Chris. Having worked as the Managing Editor for a weekly newspaper then as the Director of a non-profit for people with disabilities, I have gone back to school. I am now a full time graduate student in the college of education at Missouri State University. I am getting my Masters of Science in Education – Elementary Education.

I know that reading is a problem for many students today. I feel strongly that comics and graphic novels can be one way that we can combat this problem. Graphics novels should be in every public school library and classroom library. That is why I am choosing to write my thesis on using comics and graphic novels in the elementary classroom.

Email Meabikerbard@mac.com

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Disclaimer

Some comic literature is not appropriate for every classroom, or every community. Some are not appropriate for any classroom. You need to review any piece of comic literature for yourself and determine if it is appropriate for your grade, class, curriculum, goals, school and community.